1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an apparatus for moving barrels, drums or the like. In particular, this invention relates to a sixteen, thirty five, and fifty five gallon drum handling apparatus which may be used with an integrated tool carrier vehicle, forklift, or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is disclosed in the prior art a number of hand trucks and carts for moving barrels and drums. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,862,299 discloses a convertible hand truck body with each arm having curved keg engaging plates to clamp a keg or barrel. In U.S. Pat. No. 169,559, a hand truck is disclosed which utilizes two shafts united at the end by adjustable cross-pieces, each shaft being provided with a movable sleeve carrying a pointed clutch capable of being fastened to the heads of barrel. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,854, a hand cart is disclosed which is adapted for carrying a stack of materials such as tires, barrels and the like utilizing a pair of arms activated by foot pedals to open and close the arms.
A short coming of these prior art hand trucks in general has been their inability to remove barrels from or load barrels onto drum racks, elevated platforms such as the pallets which are commonly utilized in connection with forklift trucks, and elevated surfaces such as a truck bed. A second short coming of prior art hand trucks has been their inability to allow an operator to pour a liquid directly from a drum or elevate the drum over a vehicle to allow the drum's liquid to pour from the drum into the vehicle.
There is also disclosed in the prior art drum lifter mechanisms adapted for use with fork lift trucks and the like. An example of this type of prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 4,272,220 which discloses a drum lifter mechanism adapted for reception over the vertically adjustable forks of a forklift truck and which includes a pair of opposed drum-engaging jaws capable of pivotal movement about horizontal and vertical axes for encompassing and gripping a drum.
While this device of the prior art is satisfactory for its intended purpose of lifting and transporting a drum, there are several shortcomings in this prior art drum lifting mechanism including its inability to pour liquid from a drum, and the complexity of its design.
With these and other disadvantages known to prior art drum lifting and moving mechanisms, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide an apparatus for moving drums, barrels or the like which is simple and inexpensive and which is adapted for use with an integrated tool carrier vehicle or a forklift.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for moving barrels or drums to and from an elevated platform or drum rack and which accommodates platforms or drum racks of various heights.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for pouring a liquid directly from a drum or elevate the drum over a vehicle to allow the drum's liquid to pour from the drum into the vehicle.
Various other advantages and objectives of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed description of the invention is set forth below.